China is implementing new regulations that the government says will protect freedom of faith. Critics contend that the broad guidelines could instead be used to persecute religious groups deemed troublesome by authorities.
The guidelines, to take effect Tuesday, are meant to give a legal framework for China's constitutional promise of freedom of religion, state media have reported.
Under existing laws, communist authorities allow worship only in state-monitored churches, temples or mosques. Millions of believers attend unauthorized services, often in private homes, but are subject to arrest and harassment.
China, which will convene its annual legislative session Saturday in Beijing, has banned many religious or spiritual groups, including the Falun Gong movement and churches loyal Pope John Paul II. It also tightly controls Tibetan Buddhism.
A lengthy 48 articles and seven chapters, the new Regulations on Religious Affairs cover everything from how licensed organizations can accept religious donations and claim tax exemptions to how religious institutions may accept foreign students, among other topics.
The new rules say that "anyone who compels citizens to believe in or not believe in any religions ... shall be ordered to make corrections by the religious affairs department" and could face criminal charges, the state-run newspaper China Daily said.
Such language could be used to persecute the faithful, said Nicolas Becquelin, research director of the New York-based Human Rights in China.
"The law purports to protect 'normal' religious activities which in effect means religious activities expressly authorized by the state through a system of compulsory licensing and mandatory inspections," he said.
Becquelin said overly broad regulations have been used as a pretext to "suspend, ban, suppress, religious congregations as well as fine, detain or arrest religious practitioners."
Other foreign observers say the outcome of the new rules remains uncertain.
Egil Lothe of the Oslo Coalition on Freedom of Religion or Belief, a nonprofit Norwegian group, said the regulations offer "an improvement on present practices," because they give clearer procedures for registering religious groups and institutions.
But, "to what extent the regulations will change other aspects of Chinese policies on religion remains to be seen," Lothe added.
The U.S. State Department said in a 2003 report that China "tries to control and regulate religious groups to prevent the rise of groups that could constitute sources of authority outside of the control of the government and the Chinese Communist Party."
The report called the government's respect of religious freedom "poor."